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0 pointsnostrademons8y ago0 comments

I first checked them out the day they opened (July 05), and was using them daily by January 06. There were definitely real people and a growing community by then.

I wouldn't attribute their success to fake accounts, although the fake accounts were probably necessary to seed the community. Rather, they took off once they added comments (Dec 05, IIRC). It's the same story as Whatsapp (messaging), YouTube (related videos), and AirBnB (pro photos): there was one feature that they really needed for product/market fit, and once they added it, people started using the product on their own.

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killin_dan8y ago

Steve Huffman himself attributes early success to the spam campaign.

spyhi8y ago

Yep, because otherwise the site would have seemed like a ghost town despite growing because of the 1-9-90 rule. They had to keep submissions going until they attracted the 10% of users that makes a community truly come alive.

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killin_dan8y ago

Steve Huffman himself attributes early success to the spam campaign.

spyhi8y ago

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse